In certain areas of the country where energy costs are high, running an electrically operated clothes dryer can be very expensive. Gas operation is not always a choice in some areas, leaving the homeowner with few options other than running a costly electric clothes dryer. Even where gas is available, operating a gas-fired clothes dryer can still be inefficient. A large portion of the heat transferred to the drying chamber is vented to the atmosphere without heating the clothes. Other advantages include no chance of fire caused by gas or electric heat sources, and elimination of overheating and scorching fabrics since temperatures of water/heat radiation are lower than gas or electric heat sources.
A home heating system is often designed to supply heat to different parts of a house. In larger homes, the heating system is often separated into zones of heating, where certain parts of the house demand more heat than do other parts.
The present invention is a clothes dryer that operates as part of the heating system of a home. The clothes dryer is operatively connected in the same way as a zone thermostat, and makes a demand from the heating system in a similar fashion. Therefore, the present invention is a clothes dryer system that integrally is both part of the home heating system, and acts as a peripheral heating zone.
In zone heating using heated water, the water is fed to a radiator or baseboard, which transfers the heat to a room of the house by means of radiation. The thermostat in the room senses when the temperature in the room has fallen below a set level and sends a signal for heated water or sometimes steam to be sent through the pipes to the room making the demand. Many hot water boilers in homes today operate year-round as they are being called upon to heat domestic hot water as well as provide heat for the home. Often, this is accomplished through the use of an indirect-fired hot water heater that also acts as a heating zone peripheral, thus making the present invention a suitable addition to a boiler system that is already being utilized year-round to provide domestic hot water.
The clothes dryer of the present invention operates in a similar fashion to the thermostat. Turning on the clothes dryer sends a signal to the boiler to send heated water or steam through pipes connected to the clothes dryer. The heated fluid enters a radiator unit of the clothes dryer and causes heat to radiate into the clothes-drying chamber. The chamber forms part of a rotating drum that tumbles the clothes as they absorb heat. Wet or damp clothes deposited within the chamber absorb the heat and drive the moisture out of the fabrics.
The drying chamber comprises a sensor that senses the moisture level. The sensor sends a signal to a blower or venting apparatus in order to flush the chamber of moisture. As the moisture is vented to the atmosphere and the moisture level reaches a dry condition within the chamber, the sensor sends a signal to the boiler to suspend further fluid supply. Drying is a constant process as air and heat are blown into the chamber. Settings on the dryer control panel provide for selective choice between an extremely dry or damp condition for the drying operation. A simple, conventional timer may also be used to specify a predetermined time interval (e.g., 10, 20, . . . , 90 minutes).